How to Win Client Business When You Don't Know Where to Start

How to Win Client Business When You Don't Know Where to Start

by Doug Fletcher
Released October 2021
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781119676904

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Book description

Dramatically grow your client base following pragmatic and insightful advice by bestselling author Doug Fletcher

How to Win Client Business When You Don't Know Where to Start: A Rainmaking Guide for Consulting and Professional Services serves as an invaluable and indispensable guide for everyone in the business of selling professional and consulting services. Author Doug Fletcher dives deeply into the five skills required to "make it rain":

  • Create Your Personal Brand Identity
  • Demonstrate Your Professional Expertise
  • Build Your Professional Ecosystem
  • Develop Trust-Based Relationships
  • Practice Everyday Success Habits

How to Win Client Business When You Don't Know Where to Start provides a masterclass in teaching the practical techniques and concrete strategies that professional services providers were never taught in school or on the job. Pragmatic lessons take the place of the vaguely defined principles found in competing books to turn readers from sales novices into rainmakers.

Written by the same celebrated author who brought readers the best-selling book How Clients Buy, How to Win Client Business When You Don't Know Where to Start is perfect for any professional services provider or consultant who seeks to dramatically increase their book of business.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. More Praise for How to Win Client Business When You Don’t Know Where to Start
  3. Title page
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. Introduction
  7. If I'm So Smart, Why Do I Feel So Stupid about Selling?
    1. CHAPTER 1: Things Rainmakers Do That Most of Us Don't: The Five Rainmaker Skills
      1. What Is a Rainmaker?
      2. Why Do I Feel So Stupid About Selling?
      3. The Five Rainmaker Skills, the Focus of This Book
      4. Moving Forward with the Five Rainmaker Skills
      5. References
    2. CHAPTER 2: How Clients Buy
      1. The Seven Elements of the Client's Buying Decision Journey
      2. Understanding Client Risk
      3. It's Not a Long Sales Cycle, It's a Long Buy Cycle
      4. References
    3. CHAPTER 3: Where Clients Come From
      1. The Seven Most Common Client Pathways
      2. Where Clients Come From: The Seven Client Pathways
      3. Connecting the Dots
      4. References
    4. CHAPTER 4: Rainmaking for Introverts and People Who Don't Want to Sell
      1. The Rainmaker Mindset
      2. Lessons from Dominic Barton, Global Managing Director at McKinsey & Company
      3. References
  8. The Five Skills We Must Learn If We Want to Become a Rainmaker
    1. Skill 1: Create Your Personal Brand Identity
      1. CHAPTER 5: Decide What You Want to Be Known for and Who You Wish to Serve
        1. The Birth of Personal Branding
        2. Stupid Choices!
        3. Society's Hall Pass
        4. References
      2. CHAPTER 6: The Power of Focus
        1. If You're Not in the Client's Top Three, You're Not Going to Be Hired
        2. Filling an Empty Slot in the Client's Mind
        3. References
      3. CHAPTER 7: Choosing Your Specialty
        1. Terry Pappy's Success Story: Carve a Niche, Then Carve a Niche within a Niche
        2. Bill Stoddart's Success Story: Knowing What You Believe In
        3. Three Ways of Defining Your Personal Brand Identity: Functional Expertise, Target Audience, and Geographic Focus
        4. Finding Your Unique Combination of These Three
        5. References
      4. CHAPTER 8: You Can't Sell Beyond Your Credibility Zone
        1. The Story's Beginning
        2. The Story's Middle
        3. The Story's Ending
        4. The Lessons of the Story
        5. A Seat at the Table
        6. References
    2. Skill 2: Demonstrate Your Professional Expertise
      1. CHAPTER 9: How Clients Tell Who the Real Experts Are
        1. Clients Seek to Avoid Regret
        2. How We Can Help Clients Avoid Anticipated Regret
        3. Unlearning the Mental Hang‐up We Have with Talking about Ourselves
        4. Choosing Your Credibility Markers
        5. References
      2. CHAPTER 10: How to Toot Your Own Horn without Looking Like a Jerk
        1. Technique 1: Writing
        2. Technique 2: Public Speaking
        3. Technique 3: University Teaching
        4. Technique 4: Radio Programs and Podcasts
        5. Technique 5: Serving on a Board of Directors
        6. Technique 6: High‐Profile Work and Case Studies
        7. Technique 7: Industry Awards
        8. Technique 8: Professional Certifications
        9. Choosing Where to Focus Your Energy
        10. References
      3. CHAPTER 11: Using LinkedIn to Build Your Credibility
        1. Master Digital Marketing at Oxford
        2. What Is the Internet Good For?
        3. LinkedIn Is a Powerful Enabler, But It Won't Do the Heavy Lifting for Us
        4. Don't Turn into Human Spam
        5. The Power of Sharing and Connecting
        6. References
    3. Skill 3: Build Your Professional Ecosystem
      1. CHAPTER 12: The Two Hundred People You Need to Know
        1. Genuine Relationships, Not LinkedIn Connections
        2. What's the Difference between Your Ecosystem and Network?
        3. Why Your Ecosystem Matters: Revisiting the Seven Client Pathways
        4. The Makeup of Your Professional Ecosystem
        5. The Double Helix of Your Ecosystem and Trust
        6. References
      2. CHAPTER 13: Does Cold‐Calling Work? And What to Do if It Doesn't
        1. Remember What Mom Said: Don't Talk to Strangers
        2. Making Friends on the Playground
        3. Making Friends with Your Two Hundred People
        4. When Cold‐Calling Works Best
        5. Cold‐Calling and Making Friends
        6. References
      3. CHAPTER 14: Making Friends in a Natural Way
        1. Warm Prospecting: Leveraging Your Relationships to Make New Friends
        2. Nobody Likes Human Spam
        3. How to Get an Introduction without Seeming Pushy
        4. References
      4. CHAPTER 15: I Can't See the Forest for the Trees
        1. The Tree Farm Analogy
        2. Caring for Your Professional Ecosystem
        3. References
      5. CHAPTER 16: Why Advertising Doesn't Work for Us
        1. Recognizing the Limits of Advertising
        2. A Better Way: Building Relationships
        3. References
    4. Skill 4: Develop Trust-Based Relationships
      1. CHAPTER 17: What Is Trust and Where Does It Come From?
        1. Recognizing Authentic Likeability
        2. Where Trust Comes From
        3. Advice from a Seasoned Relationship Builder
        4. References
      2. CHAPTER 18: Conversation Skills for Introverts (and the Rest of Us, Too)
        1. Finding Common Ground through Small Talk
        2. Building Common Ground over Time
        3. References
      3. CHAPTER 19: The Art of Keeping in Touch
        1. Finding Opportunities to Be Thoughtful and Helpful
        2. Caring and Empathy Matter
        3. References
      4. CHAPTER 20: Transparency Is Good, Right?
        1. Why Undersharing Is a Path to Irrelevancy
        2. How Much Is Too Much?
        3. Finding the Balance
        4. References
    5. Skill 5: Practice Everyday Success Habits
      1. CHAPTER 21: The Daily Habits of Successful Rainmakers
        1. The Roller Coaster of Revenue
        2. Practicing the Rainmaker Skills Every Day
        3. The Most Important Hour of Your Day
        4. References
      2. CHAPTER 22: Making the Rainmaker Skills Stick
        1. Building the Rainmaker Skills into Our Daily Lives
        2. References
      3. CHAPTER 23: Finding Your Rainmaker M.O.
        1. The Modus Operandi
        2. A More Modern M.O.
        3. The Middle Ground
        4. Finding Your M.O.
        5. Rainmaker M.O. Best Practices
        6. References
  9. The Rainmaker's Journey
    1. CHAPTER 24: Thoughts on Becoming a Rainmaker
      1. What We Can Learn from the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and the Rolling Stones
      2. Becoming a Rainmaker Is Not a Structured 10‐Step Program
      3. References
    2. CHAPTER 25: Finding the Work That You Love
      1. Do You Enjoy Your Work?
      2. Enthusiasm for Our Work Is Key to Our Success
      3. Keep Exploring Until You Find Your Calling
      4. Respect, Trust, Likeability, and Enthusiasm
      5. References
    3. CHAPTER 26: A High Road with a Long View
      1. On Patience
      2. On Persistence
      3. The Rainmaker Mindset
      4. References
  10. Appendix A: The Rainmaker Skills Self‐Test: What Are My Rainmaker Strengths and Weaknesses?
  11. Recommended Reading
  12. Acknowledgments
  13. About the Author
  14. Index
  15. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: How to Win Client Business When You Don't Know Where to Start
  • Author(s): Doug Fletcher
  • Release date: October 2021
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781119676904